Hauling anything cross-country means truckers have to pass multiple jurisdictions. What’s allowed in one state may not be allowed in another. Carriers and drivers who don’t pay attention to the differences between the laws in which they drive put themselves at risk.

Being in violation of the law increases the chances that a driver will be pulled over. Yet it also means potential fines and citations could negatively impact a carrier’s ability to do business, as well as the driver’s ability to continue to do his or her job.

For instance, before hauling across state lines, carriers and drivers should know the maximum allowable length for commercial trailers in each of the states they’ll enter.

Depending on the regulations in each state, drivers may or may not be able to bring their trailers across state lines and still be in compliance with the law. Without even knowing it, drivers may be in violation of the law in one state — even though he or she was in compliance a few miles on the other side of the state line.

In Arizona, for example, commercial trailers can be a maximum of 57 feet, 6 inches in length. If a driver hauling a trailer of that length were to cross the border into California, however, he or she could be cited because the maximum commercial trailer length there is 53 feet.

Even within one state, there may be different requirements — depending on the classification of the road being used. Because knowing all of these various regulations can be difficult for carriers and drivers, the following guide provides a handy reminder of the laws in each state.

No matter how long a commercial trailer is, a custom tarp system can cover it and keep cargo protected from the elements. Read on to learn more about commercial trailer length regulations — state by state.